M. Reynaud then announced the Government's intention to establish a direct control on prices, to curb speculation, and effect a general reduction in expenditure a stabilization of salaries, a control of exchange operations, and an encouragement of exports with the object of obtaining foreign currency, To these measures the Finance Minister compared Germany's drastic methods in waging economic warfare, such as the requisitioning of all necessary industrial centres and the repatriation of Germans living abroad in order to seize their foreign holdings.
Referring to the Exchange Equalization Fund, M. Reynaud pointed out that it was in a better position than when the war started despite the large purchases made abroad. This, he said, was due to the fact that large amounts of French capital abroad have been repatriated. During the ten months prior to the outbreak of the war no less than Frs. 26,000,000,000 in gold returned from abroad, There are now Frs, 60,000,000,000 in gold to be added to the former gold reserves of the Bank of France.
M. Reynaud stressed that all purchases abroad must be drastically restricted. Compared to the restrictions which the German people must suffer, these are extremely moderate ones, he said,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.